What are you wearing?

Thursday

Dec 4, 2008 at 12:01 AMDec 8, 2008 at 1:55 PM

In high school, Kelly Cousins loved to flip through the pretty, glossy J. Crew catalogs that came in the mail, wishing the embroidered belts or seersucker jackets came in her size. Before she graduated, she had a store credit card. And in college, she worked at the Polaris location. She was obsessed.

In high school, Kelly Cousins loved to flip through the pretty, glossy J. Crew catalogs that came in the mail, wishing the embroidered belts or seersucker jackets came in her size.

Before she graduated, she had a store credit card. And in college, she worked at the Polaris location. She was obsessed.

Cousins was living the J. Crew dream until, when moving this summer, her husband put 30 or 40 pairs of her shoes - about 80 percent of her collection, which was years in the making - into a black trash bag to be transported across town. She hasn't seen them since.

"My theory is that somehow, somebody got their paws on them and threw them away by accident," said Cousins, who lives in Hilliard and works in pharmaceutical sales. "It's nauseating."

She's been searching eBay to replace them, but finding those same shoes is proving nearly impossible.

Still, J. Crew is the only brand that fits her petite frame well, whether it's for shoes or suits or shirts - but not jeans. For those, her favorites are Citizens of Humanity from Dr. Mojoe.

And when she finds something she likes at J. Crew, she usually buys it in a couple different colors - she's amassed about 40 of their button-ups. Cousins calls her style "plain-Jane with little bits of flair," and said she mostly goes for muted colors like cream, black or gray.

Her everyday, go-to accessories are pearl earrings and necklaces, and her biggest fashion icon, by far, is Jackie Kennedy.

But if Cousins isn't in J. Crew, she's in sweatpants. Seriously.

"Take a picture of me on the weekend, because it's the complete opposite," she said. "I revert into this, like, hermit."

THE OUTFIT:

Cardigan: J. Crew. "I love it because of the ruffles."

Belt: J. Crew

Skirt: Escada

Pumps: J. Crew

Pearls: One strand a gift from Mom; the other, Ralph Lauren. "It's almost instinct to put them on, no matter what I'm wearing."